Thursday, March 14 2002

Good morning and welcome to Day 6 of the 9th Annual Spring Training Trek 2002!

Can you believe I have been doing this for 9 years (not including 1995?)  My feet are killing me.  I am certainly not as young as I used to be (and feel older than I am).  But the Braves are away in Kissimmee against Houston and I have my own road trip planned for the Universal Studios theme park at Universal Studios, Florida.

Be fore we go any further, let me make one thing clear.  I will not visit the Barney Sing-a-long.  No way, not a chance.  Wouldn't be prudent.  Any questions?  Yes, you in back.  Are we going to do anything with Barney?  There are a lot of things I would like to do TO Barney, but for his own protection it would be best for me not to get near him. Anyone have a 12-guage?  There is only room in this heart for one purple Dinosaur, and Dino is pre-historic Man's best friend.

So we are up, somewhat awake, and on the shuttle from Disney to CityWalk for a new adventure.  Upon entry to Universal Studios, which claims the title of largest operational production studio/theme park, we are in naturally enough in Hollywood.  First stop was a tribute to I Love Lucy, a museum dedicated to the red-head Lucile Ball and her ground-breaking show, both in terms of creativity and technology.

Next you are in for a real treat.  Welcome to Cyberdine, rebuilt after that explosive incident at headquarters.  Development of SkyNet is back on track and today Cyberdine is ready to unveil their latest invention, the T100 Terminator Series cybernetic soldier.  But who should crash the party but Sarah and John Conner.  What ensues is a theatre-quality production involving live actors, pyrotechnics and full screen movie footage by the original cast as the characters jump in and out of the screen, battling the computers in he future to save the past.

Enter the Gory, Gruesome & Grotesque Horror Make-Up show and you might have a little apprehension about bugs crawling out of peoples mouths. But this light-hearted demonstration of costume effects is neat if not harmless.  Following this was Animal Plane Live, a stage show staring the most unpredictable (though well trained) mutts, birds, chimps, etc. from the television network dedicated to animals.

After a quick lunch at La Bamba Cafe, it was time to enter Woody Woodpecker's world and a ride one the Nuthouse Coaster, a mild 20 second ride through Woody's nut factory.  Curious George Goes to Town is a playground telling of the classic children's story.  Turns out George is a Braves fan too!  Or he was just curious about my cap.

The center attraction was the E.T. adventure where riders are placed in aerial suspended bikes and sent to help E.T. to find his way home to save his planet.  After a chase through the woods on earth, the bikes take off across the sky (you know the famous scene with the moon), and hyper blasted to E.T.'s home world where you are welcomed as heroes. Very cute, and timely considering the 20th anniversary re-release of the movie this Spring (can it really be 20 years?  No wonder I feel so old).

Over in the World Expo, the next adventure was Back to the Future, The Ride.  This was a neat virtual reality show with a twist.  The story is that Biff has stolen the Dalorean and gone back in time.  Doc Brown is locked up and it is up to you to take the 8-passenger TUV (Time Utility Vehicle) and rescue the future.  The twist is that the ride takes place in front of a huge 8 story screen.  In fact, all the cars (some 3 rows of 4) are stacked in front of the same screen as your hovercraft dips and dives through time all the way to the volcanic pre-history.

Then there is the Men in Black Alien Attack.  This interactive ride pits you as MIB trainees against a real alien invasion of Earth.   Equipped with blasters, each rider runs up their score by running down the aliens.  The recruit with the most points wins bragging rights.  I did average, but the aliens did claim my sunglasses.  Fortunately they were cheap and expendable and I had an extra pair.

From here I made my way to San Francisco in time for Beetlejuice's Rock 'n Roll Graveyard Revue.  Included in the band were Wolfman, the Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein and his Bride (a chilling love triangle between Dracula and the Frankenstein's).  On the way to Amity I experienced an Earthquake.  After a introduction to the special effects used to make the movie, we took a subway ride that got stuck under Embarkadero St.  First the rumble, then the girders collapsed, then came the gas tanker, followed by being nearly rammed by another tram.  And then the water mains broke.  Effective but short and too predictable.

Finally in Amity, I took a 3 hour tour that was cut short when another excursion boat was found sinking with no survivors.  It was not long before we too were being stalked by the Great White and we were on our own.  An attack by the refinery leaves an explosive mess behind but does not faze the shark.  But as we try to escape at the power transmission island, the shark roars as he chews threw a power cable and fries.  Just goes to show you should not talk with your mouth full.

On the stoop of DeLancy Street, the Blues Brothers belted out some favorite tunes from the movie (the original, not that 2000 crap).  The map places this in New York, but we all know the Blues comes from Chicago.  One who does come from New York is King Kong and Kongfrontation is another aerial tram ride that runs into difficulty while evacuating you from the city.  Of more interest than the twists and corners a cable tram somehow manages to turn is the pennies tossed against a fake window sill by those waiting in line.  Many have fallen onto the awning below the walkway and the park has decided to just leave it there.

Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense for all time, and his 50 years of movie production are celebrated with a retrospective and exploration of some of his techniques.  One neat story is that the Birds was originally produced in 3D, but not released in that format as the fad was quickly out of style.  However, a short clip proved that the Birds in 3D would have been a masterpiece.

Our last ride came from the Midwest in Tornado Alley.  On the Twister sound stage, they recreate the conditions for an atmospheric event. First it gets deathly quiet.  Then the porch begins to rattle, the drive-in theater rips apart, a vortex appears touching off an explosion at the gas station.  This realistic sensory experience was complete with torrential rain, Dorothy II and flying cow.

After returning to Disney, I took the bus to the Magic Kingdom, then the monorail to the Contemporary Resort where I had heard there was a store specializing in Fantasia.  While the store was named Fantasia, there was nothing special about it, so I stopped at the Concourse Steakhouse for a late dinner of Beef Proscuitto Salad, Oak Roasted Prime Rib and for desert a Cappuccino Mousse.

This was a full day, and tomorrow is yet to come.  So get some rest and massage those feet.  Against the Dodgers the Braves next compete!

Fuskie